My Last Hope
by Dagmar Markson
Summary: Jack Ryan X OC. A daring story of love and survival. Trapped in the underwater city of Rapture, Jack Ryan is Dagmar's only hope of escape. Possible game spoilers. Rating may increase as story goes on.
1. Chapter 1

With a last ditch effort I sprinted across the narrow hallway to the office door. The splicers were making their way down the hall. This was a risky move, but they would have seen me. The door was stuck and panic set in.

I raised the crowbar I was using as a weapon and wedged it in the door, quickly pressing my weight against it slamming the door open. I had barely enough time to catch it before it slammed against the wall. The splicers were close. I could hear their unintelligible conversations. Stepping inside and quietly closing the office door I looked for a place to hide.

There was a rather large window to the hallway. Shadows were coming down the hall and in a last ditch effort I ducked beneath the window. Shadows moved across the window and I covered my mouth trying to remain as quiet as I could. This place was a living hell.

The zombie stories I grew up on were nothing compared to the splicers. Splicers had full mental capabilities. They were just mutated and insane. Seeing a single splicer makes me relieved that I faced the societal suicide when I refused to use plasmids. It was worth every name and every party.

The shadows and voices stopped. I peeked out the window. They were past the hall I was in. A sigh of relief escaped my lips. The window had blinds and I quickly drew them most of the way, leaving a crack big enough for me to see a shadow if another group of splicers goes by. It was nice to have a refuge, even if it was just a small office.

Examining the door, there was a lock that I turned. I jammed the desk chair under the knob for good measure. For the first time in a long time I felt somewhat safe. Turning around, I glanced at the office. It wasn't in horrible condition for being abandoned. The paint had only barely started to peel. The only furniture in the office was a filing cabinet, the desk and the chair holding the door shut. I set my pack on the ground and sighed with relief.

Today's accomplishments seemed small, but they were huge. I managed to go through one of the biggest Splicer hot spots to scrounge up what little food was left in the area. There is not a lot of food left down here. I had gathered about a month's worth of food, scrounging everywhere I could. There just wasn't a lot left. What other possible survivors hadn't got, the splicers had.

I sighed once more and began to unpack my belongings. This office will be my refuge until I nearly run out of food. Peering out the window, I carefully moved the desk up against a wall and laid my sleeping bag and pillow across the top. My extra clothes, food and water went into the filing cabinet drawers. What few other belongings went into the desk drawers. All that lay in those drawers were a couple bottles of alcohol, a diamond necklace that belonged to my mother, various pens and pencils, two notebooks, a journal and a few books that I've gathered along the way.

With a sigh of what came as close to contentment as possible escaped my lips as I laid back on the sleeping bag. I reveled in the somewhat safe feeling as I closed my eyes and slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I awoke abruptly to a sharp shaking sound at the door. The adrenaline began to race and I reached for my crowbar and gripped it tightly. Trying not to make any noise I crept slowly towards the door. Kneeling down I peered under the partially opened blinds. A man stood there. He appeared to be normal looking. He wore no mask, he seemed to be coherent and he did not have any odd features. He looked like a perfectly normal, perfectly healthy human being.

In my haze and astonishment, I turned and removed the chair from under the doorknob. With a few swift movements, the door was unlocked and open and I was staring into the face of the first human being I had seen in a long time.

"Are you alright, can I come in, there is a band of splicers after me." I simply nodded, still in a dazed shock. The sound of running feet and incoherent conversation snapped me out of my thoughts.

Swiftly and quietly, the door returned to its previous state. With a movement of the hand I motioned for him to kneel. He quietly complied as I peeked out the window. A large group of splicers sprinted past. The sounds they made were inhuman. A shiver passed over my body at the sight. The yells and clamors grew quieter and quieter. A sigh of relief passed over my form as I slumped against the wall.

"Who are you and why the hell are you here," I questioned.

"I'm Jack. I have no idea why I'm here. My plane crashed near a lighthouse that led me here. Been stuck here ever since. Who are you?"

"I'm Dagmar. I came with my parents when this place first came into being. I was 11 years old. It was 1946. We were one of the first waves of citizens who came here. I'm 25 now."

"Why would anyone want to come down here?"

"You didn't see it in its hey day. When it was new, it was beautiful. Everything a Utopian society should be. Until Fontaine and Ryan and the Plasmids and Adam and then the following civil war. Rapture went from a blossoming Utopia into a living hell. Monsters roam these halls. Anything human is long dead. You are the first living human I have seen in a good long time. How did you get down here?" I asked, a sudden realization slapping me in the face.

"I came down in what looked like a small submarine. It was round and came from the lighthouse above."

"A _bathysphere?! _How in God's almighty name did you manage to get a bathysphere to work? Ryan has had them on lockdown for months?" I sat bolt up filled with curiosity. How in the hell had he managed it?

"I just pulled a lever on the inside of the sphere. Nothing special."

I took a good long look at him. He looked like Ryan. A younger, clean shaven version of him. It was like seeing a ghost and I felt the blood leave my face.

"Are you alright? You're pale as a ghost." I nodded lightly and sat back.

"Yeah I'm fine. You just like nearly identical to someone." He stared at me with a burning curiosity. I kept my mouth shut. An awkward silence filled the room.

"So," he continued, trying to break the quiet, "What are you doing holed up in an office?"

"It's how I survive. I run like mad around Rapture collecting what small amount of food is left around and then I find a place I can hide out in as long as possible. For now this is my home."

I watched him look around the room with a small smile on his face. He didn't seem to notice me staring at him. He really was a handsome man, despite the shocking similarity to Ryan. I found my eyes wandering, looking up and down his form. He was at least 6'2". Most of him was hidden beneath the white sweater he wore. He was built like a strong man. The kind of man my father would be proud to call a son in law.

His gaze suddenly shifted back to me. He had caught me staring. The small smile he had spread across his face. I could not help but smile. The smile made him even more handsome. A small flush had filled my cheeks.

"It's cozy. I hate to ask this of you, but ever since I have been in this hell hole, I have been on the run, chasing one thing after another. I would really love to take a break, even if it is for a couple of days. I need to relax. I want to get out of here fast as possible, but my body physically can not handle all of this."

I looked at him with a serious expression. On my own I had enough food stored up for a month. If he stayed with me too long, he would cut that ratio in half. Looking at him again, he looked so tired and battle worn. It was tough surviving in Rapture, even for a hardened veteran such as myself. He had just gotten thrown into this mess. Who knows if he had even picked up a weapon before he came here. I sighed.

"You can stay but you have to find your own sleeping things. There is a sleeping bag in the room across the hall. If you get it you can stay. You will have to sleep on the floor though. "

He smiled like a little kid and nodded.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Did he just flirt with me? I shook my head in disbelief and stood up. I watched him walk out as I sat on the desk. For the first time in over a year, I wasn't entirely alone in this world.


	3. Chapter 3

I gripped the crow bar tightly in my hand. There had been no sign of splicers for hours, but you can never be too safe down here. Jack opened the door and ran to the room across the hall. Anxiousness built up in my stomach as I stood in the doorway waiting for him. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach and a sense of fear crept up my spine. A sense of helplessness washed over me as I realized I don't know if I could last again without some form of company.

A gunshot fires and fear grips my insides. More resound and echo off the walls. The only sound that remained was an incessant muttering. The noise was the sound of nightmares. It was a sign of a broken mind, where the only thing that's left are the most inhuman parts. I looked up and was facing a nightmare.

She stared back at me. Her face didn't look human. A cat mask clung to her distorted features. She was a shell of the person she was before. A splicer. She lifted the wrench in her hand, but before she could swing I was already in action. The crowbar in my hand connected with her skull. Within seconds and in a spray of blood, the splicer lay unmoving at my feet. Adrenaline was coursing through my veins. The only sound was the blood in my ears.

Where was he? I didn't move, afraid that there might be more splicers. The sound of someone running tensed my muscles. The crowbar was raised behind my head and I was poised to strike. Slowly I turned in the direction of the noise. Every atom of my being screamed for action as the noise came closer and closer.

I stepped into the swing. Everything was in slow motion. The little amount of light the lamp in the office illuminated the face of the figure running towards me. It was Jack. My adrenaline still running, it was difficult to stop the already moving crowbar.

He boldly stepped forward and grabbed the crowbar stopping it in its tracks. The move shocked me as he swooped in, wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed me.


	4. Chapter 4

The greatest shock I had ever known passed through my body at that exact moment. It seemed surreal. A second ago I was wondering if he was dead. I wasn't sure if I was floating or kissing. My thoughts came rushing back and I began to ponder. I didn't know him. I met him 15 minutes ago and here we are standing out in the open kissing. He broke the kiss and we stood there awkwardly. You couldn't say that there was nothing there. I felt like an awkward teenager

"For a minute I thought you were dead," I breathed.

"I was. A damn splicer snuck up behind me and got just the right amount of extra hits on me. There's a Vita Chamber in the room at the end of the hall, that's why I was runnin' up the hall." Words evaded me and I just kind of stood there staring at him.

"How in the HELL did you get revived in a Vita Chamber?"

"I don't know, I just do. I have been able to since I got here. It's that not normal?"

"Uh." I sat there trying to find the right words to say. "Ryan's had the Vita Chamber's locked just like the bathyspheres. No one is supposed to be able to use them unless you have Ryan's DNA."

A dumbfounded look passed over Jack's face. Nothing really made sense. There was no real way that he could have activated the bathysphere and even got down here, let alone be able to use the Vita-Chambers. I was lost in thought until a crashing noise caught my attention.

"Did you get the sleeping bag?"

"No the splicer got me before I could get it."

"Well if you wanna stay, you better hurry it up before more splicers come. Unlike you, if I die, it's permanent."

He nodded and ran into the other room. Within a minute he stepped through the threshold again. He walked into the office and I quickly followed. Looking both ways I closed and locked the door once more. After I firmly placed the office door under the handle, I slid down the wall and sighed with relief. The feeling of safety washed over me once more as I peered at the tiny office. Jack was leaned up against the wall to the left of me. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be thinking.

I took the chance to get a better look at him. He was so handsome. More handsome than any other man I've seen before. I wish I knew more about him. There was such an air of mystery about him. There had to be a logical reason as to why he was able to do the things he did. What was he doing down here? He was a walking question mark. I had the inkling, however, that I was glad I met him. Meeting him was the the first good thing to happen in a long, long time.

"What are you doing down here?" he asked. I gave him an inquisitive look.

"Just trying to survive. That's all I can do. I'm dangerously outnumbered by splicers and there's only so much one girl can do. I can't get out here. No one can. This place is an underwater prison."

"I'm trying to get out of here. I owe a debt, however. I'm going after Ryan. Atlas is the only reason I've survived this long. I watched Ryan sic his splicers on the man's family. That's something you can't un-see. There was nothing I could do but sit there and watch." His expression was pained. I wasn't sure what to say. I sat there uncomfortably. I had the urge to comfort him, but I did not know how to. "I have to find Ryan. He may also be my key to get the hell out of here.

I stood up and stepped towards the desk. Turning my head back I said, "You should probably get some rest. You've had a long day it seems." He nodded grimly, but did not move. I looked down then moved towards the desk. The desk made the perfect bed for me. It was just the right length and the sleeping back fit perfectly on top. I didn't particularly care for sleeping on the floor. It made me feel exposed for some strange reason. With a sigh I sat up on the desk and laid in the sleeping bag. Peering behind me, Jack hadn't moved. He was staring at the ceiling. I rolled over and closed my eyes.

I heard a noise Jack unrolled his sleeping bag and laid in it. My mind wandered back to the kiss. There was a sense of tension in the air, sexual or otherwise. It was hard to forget the feeling of his lips on mine. I had just met him though. He said he was trying to get out of here. Maybe he'll let me go with him. He has access to the bathyspheres. They are the only way out of this pit. This handsome, mystery of a man may just be my last hope.


End file.
